Attention all Knifemakers!.....Product dealers/retailers and/or knife makers/sharpeners/hobbyists (etc) are not permitted to insert business related text/videos/images (company/company name/product references) and/or links into your signature line, your homepage url (within the homepage profile box), within any posts, within your avatar, nor anywhere else on this site. Market research (such as asking questions regarding or referring to products/services that you make/offer for sale or posting pictures of finished projects) is prohibited. These features are reserved for supporting vendors and hobbyists.....Also, there is no need to announce to the community that you are a knifemaker unless you're trying to sell something so please refrain from sharing.
Thanks for your co-operation!

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Damascus petty

Id like to start this by saying thanks to Will Catcheside for letting me visit him and spend three days in his workshop forging and grinding and being helped through the whole process. Being told when, where and how to hit it was a great learning experience. Without his help I wouldn't have been able to even attempt this, so a big thank you.

This is the third knife I've made and was a Christmas present for my sister, though I really wanted to keep it for myself lol. Was first time forging Damascus as well

I missed out on taking pics during the forging was too busy trying to get everything done in time without messing up, but once back home I've taken some during the finishing that I thought I'd share in case anyone is interested.
It's a laminated blade with 52 layers of en42 and 75ni8 (i think) each side of a Japanese blue 2 (aonoki)steel core. Will took care of the heat treat with a target of 60ish HRC at which the steel is still very chip resistant and will hold an edge for a long time (sister is the best at sharpening though she is learning slowly).

That turned out lovely Tom, my pleasure to have you in the workshop. You did very well indeed for you first damascus, the fact that it has a blue core was even more ambitious. I tempered them at 200 degrees, the cladding will be about 57hrc and the blue paper core will be more like 62hrc. I haven't had to sharpen mine yet from the first sharpening and its taken some abuse, I think you'll love yours when its done.
Happy Christmas to you.
Will

It sharpened up really nicely on the stones and was push cutting paper towel before I sent it off, looking forward to getting another finished so I can put it through its paces, was a bit of a rush to get this finished in time to get it in the post. Flew through a pile of veg before it went out of the door though. I'll probably make up a strop to send through to her in the new year for her to touch it up on in between when I go to visit.

Cheers, sister thought so too luckily, apparently it cut up all the veg for Christmas dinner and outperformed her Global- though I last sharpened that for her a month ago.
Earnt me a few brownie points with her
Went over the blade with some Carnauba wax on a loose mop before I sent it off and apparently she didn't notice any reactivity, hopefully as it wears off she'll start to get some nice patina....